The Silver Platter
by Moussaillon de Havilland
Summary: Alexander Vane claims to be Jack Sparrow's childhood friend and is now a colonial governor. He joins Jack, Will, and Elizabeth to find the treasure of Roanoke. But is Vane who he says he is? Or is a part of our heros' past back to haunt them?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : Only Vane is mine. **

It was Will Turner's first, and only, day on land in ten years. Everyone was gathered on the shore to welcome him - Elizabeth and their son William, and Jack Sparrow. When

Will rowed ashore, he was delighted. The group was exchanging greetings when a figure was spotted down the shore, running towards them at a great velocity. Very soon, the figure was before them, panting.

"Well!" exclaimed the man, who was short, lean, and well-dressed. "I say, I am rather relieved to find you're not a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates!" He glanced over them again, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "Oh! Can this be true? Jonathon, is it really you?" Everyone looked at each other, confused. "My goodness, it's been too long!" The man rushed over to Jack and enveloped him in a hug. Jack flinched and peeled him off.

"It's Captain Jack Sparrow, actually. And, do I even know you?"

"It's me! Alexander Vane! Surely, Jonathon, you've not forgotten? Our lovely childhood in Yorkshire, remember? We were the _best _of friends! Why, we even sang together in the church," said Vane happily as he put a proud arm around Jack's shoulder and addressed the crowd. "He is a wonderful, _wonderful_ soprano, you know."

Jack frowned, more confused than ever. It had been many many years since he was a boy in Yorkshire, and granted, his memory was a bit hazy, but he had no recollection of Vane whatsoever. "Are you sure you've got the right man?" Jack asked, dubious.

"You _are_ Jonathon Ashley Sparrow, are you not?" asked Vane, raising an eyebrow. A muffled sound of giggling came from the direction of Will and Elizabeth, and Jack shot them a glare.

"Nobody calls me that anymore," he muttered. "But that's my name."

"Then you _must_ be the very same Jonathon I knew in my youth! How fortunate that we should meet again," Vane said with a very large grin.

"Wait one minute," Will said. "How did you know to find us here?"

"Well, I was sitting on my balcony at my villa, which is right atop that hill over there, you see?" Vane pointed to a spot, "And I saw a ship. Naturally, as any colonial governor is wont to do, I came here to investigate. I certainly don't want my town besieged by pirates!"

"And yet," Will said, his hand hovering near his sword, "you are unarmed."

"No, I suppose not, but the men I've instructed to wait for me behind that sand bank are." Vane gave a quick glance to the sand bank before continuing cheerfully. "But! Since you are obviously _not_ pirates, or here to besiege my little town; and since you _are_ friends of my dear friend Jonathon–sorry, Jack– then the polite thing to do would be to invite you to supper."

**A/N : Jack might actually be an alto, not a soprano. Tune in later for an interesting supper.**


	2. Chapter 2

"So tell me, friends. Have you heard of the lost settlement of Roanoke?" Vane asked over dinner. His voice was tinged by an upper crust drawl, like someone who had all the time in the world, and all the power in it too.

"Sounds somewhat familiar," Jack said, but Will, Elizabeth, and William seemed slighty lost. Seeing this, Vane went on.

"Of course it happened long ago, nearly 200 years ago. There were a group of men sent to settle in America. They disappeared without a trace. Nobody knows what happened to them . . . except for me, that is. For I have discovered a personal log of one of the settlers. They were taken away by a spirit guarding a great, great treasure." The word 'treasure' had piqued Jack's interest.

"Treasure, you say?" he asked, suddenly curious.

"Yes. The gold of Cortez and the jewels of Pizarro would seem like trinkets compared to this."

"How do we get there?" Jack asked. Plundering Spanish ships was not as lucrative as it had once been.

"It's quite easy. Just head for the Carolinas, then follow the directions. I've been planing a venture myself. Only, there are two small problems. One, I haven't got a ship; and two, the island of Roanoke itself is haunted by spirits trapped on this earth. Of course, I shan't bore you with the details..."

"Did you say there were spirits trapped on this earth?" asked Will. It was, after all, his duty to ferry lost souls to the next world.

"Well, yes. The amulet in which the lost souls of Roanoke are trapped lies in the very same place as all the treasure. They were never properly ferried to the next world, or at least that's what they say. Oh, if only there was a way to free those poor, poor souls," Vane said woefully. Will looked at Jack, and then at Elizabeth. Elizabeth caught the glint in his eye and frowned.

"Will, no," she said sternly.

"Hm?" Vane looked at her quizzically. "No what?"

"Will, I know what you're thinking," Elizabeth continued. "And you simply can't--

"We could use the Dutchman," Will said abruptly. "I must help those souls." Vane looked at him with mild shock.

"Well! Mr. Turner, you are most kind, but I really must agree with your wife on the matter. It is a _most_ perilous voyage, perilous indeed, and I should hate to drag you into my own affairs. I only mentioned it as dinner conversation."

"Actually, Vane," Jack said, "I've been wanting an adventure. And since dear William has a ship that he is _readily_ offering. . ." he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh goodness. No, no, no. Listen, it's only a silly plan, a fleeting fantasy. If I'm to face the deadly dangers that lie before that bountiful treasure and free the poor souls trapped upon that island, then it is not my place to implicate my childhood friend and his companions."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "And besides, Will, you're only allowed one day on land every ten years. What are you going to do once we get there?" Will frowned. He hadn't thought of that.

"If I'm on land for the purpose of freeing souls. . ." he said and trailed off.

"Careers always have loopholes, don't they?" Vane asked pleasantly.

"So it's settled," Jack said quickly, hoping to deter Elizabeth, who glared.

"No," Elizabeth said, "it is _not_."

"Elizabeth is right," Vane said. "She knows a ship is no place for a woman." This touched a nerve and Elizabeth sat up straight.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but if you think that my being a woman is going to stop me from sailing on a ship then you are very mistaken!" she huffed. "Will, we're going." Vane's eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Well, if that is what the lady wants, then that is what we shall do! How well provisioned is your ship, Mr. Turner?"

"She's fully stocked, and moored just out on the bay."

"Wonderful! I have the map in my salon. I'll just fetch it and we'll be off." Nobody commented of the brusque nature of the negotiations, for they were all too excited.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N : Again, only Vane is mine! Mrs. Barlow and the geraniums appear courtesy of Rafael Sabatini. Hope you enjoy.**

Vane walked into a chamber, dark except for the pale moonlight that streamed through the window. He looked around, closed the door behind him, and lit a candle. "The log, the log," he muttered to himself, sifting through papers. _To His Excellency The Governor,_ said one document. _Tax Report_ read another. Beneath that, the edge of another paper was visible. In flowery script it read _Final Will and Testament of Lord C_, but the rest of the name was obscured by a bundle of parchment rolled up by a tattered looking piece of hemp string. "Ah!" Vane exclaimed to himself. "There you are." He put the bundle in a leather bag that he had flung over his shoulder, then turned to leave. Right before blowing out the candle, Vane returned to his desk and picked up the _Final Will and Testament of Lord C. _He looked it over once, stuffed it into his bag, and, licking his fingers, put out the candle.

"All set and ready to go, are we?" Vane asked, ruffling young William's hair. "You've never been to sea before, I'll wager," he said to him. William crossed his arms.

"I have so! Twice with my mam to Tortuga," the boy said proudly.

"Oh, Tortuga, is it?" Vane said and chuckled. "Tell me, what was a lad doing in Tortuga? Don't you know there are pirates, rogues, and knaves at every corner?" He gave a look to Elizabeth, the kind that said _You should know better, ma'am!_

"That's where Uncle Jack goes when he comes back from the ocean!"

"Hm!" Vane said, leading them out the door. "Mrs. Barlow!" he called. "Mrs. Barlow!" A round, gray-haired woman dressed in a plain dress and apron appeared.

"Are you leaving, Alexander?" she asked.

"Yes, I am, and I've got a list of chores on the table." Vane said. Mrs. Barlow put her hands on her generous hips.

"Will you be back for your breakfast?"

"Certainly not, my pretty one," Vane sighed. "Will you remember to water my geraniums?"

"You and your geraniums," Mrs. Barlow grumbled. "When _will_ you grow up?"

"Let me remind you, Mrs. Barlow, that I am, in fact, the governor of this lovely island of Tobago Cays, and I am also, in fact, paying you to work for me. I shall see you in a few months time. Oh! And, keep an eye on those scullery maids while I'm away as well, would you?" He bonked her lightly on the head with the rolled up parchment papers and motioned for Will, Elizabeth, Jack, and William to follow him out the door. "Ta, dear!" he called.

After they were a ways down the hill, Vane rolled his eyes and sighed. "I seem to be out of favor with that vinegary virgin," he said. "But no matter. She was my brother's maid before he died, and he only hired the best."

"You had a brother?" Elizabeth asked. Vane suddenly looked very upset.

"Yes," was all he said. A one word response was strange coming from the usually loquacious governor, and Elizabeth sensed the wounds were still fresh. She did not press the subject, and Vane quickened his pace so that he was ahead of the group. Then a smile slowly spread upon his lips. _Soon, my brother_, he thought to himself. _Soon._


End file.
